The present invention relates to stopper removal apparatus for removing a cork or plastic stopper of the type used as a closure for glass bottles containing beverages under pressure, such as champagne, sparkling wines and the like.
In the past, it was frequently frustrating and potentially dangerous to remove a cork or plastic stopper from a glass bottle containing a beverage under pressure. Such stoppers are initially coupled to the bottle by a wire mesh or net that inhibits the premature removal of the stopper from the bottle. To open such bottles, the retaining wire and or mesh first had to be completely removed from the bottle. Then the stopper had to be pushed up out of the bottle. Generally this was done in the past by grasping the neck of the bottle in both hands, and pressing upwardly, with one or both thumbs, on the part of the stopper that normally projects above the top of the bottle. This method tends to open the bottle too quickly, that is, with a "pop". This is deteriorative of the quality of the beverage in that it causes the carbonated gases, the bubbles, in the beverage to needlessly expand too rapidly. Additionally this method tends to be dangerous. The stopper may become an uncontrolled "flying" projectile that can cause serious injury to anyone or anything in the immediate area and that may quickly turn a festive occasion into a sad one. The exit velocity of such stoppers are frequently such that the stopper can strike a person sitting or standing nearby, for example across the table, before he or she can even blink an eye. Also this method frequently results in beverage spillage with a concomitant mess.
Another common method of removing such a stopper is to cover the stopper with a towel or other such cloth and then twist the stopper in one direction or the other so as to allow the pressure inside the bottle to force the stopper out. This method is potentially dangerous and troublesome. The stopper can slip out from beneath the towel and become a projectile. The beverage may spill or gush out. Similarly the stopper, and particularly a cork, may break, due to the twisting force or torque applied, leaving part of it in the towel and part in the neck of the bottle. Due to the pressure in the bottle, removal of the broken part from the neck of the bottle presents even a more serious problem and danger leading some to discard the bottle.
Still another method that has been proposed is to use a pliers type device, with long handles, to twist the stopper out of the bottle. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,308. Again the use of pliers type devices, which approach the bottle from the side rather than from the top, have a greater tendency to break the stopper due to the twisting force or torque imposed on the stopper by the device. This creates the same problems as stated above.
Another prior device that has been proposed for use in opening stoppered bottles is disclosed in the French Pat. No. 1,068,568. This device is said to be in the general form of a pair of pliers and includes two substantially identical members or limbs. A relatively large, heavy handle is perpendicularly formed on the upper end of each of the members. The lower ends of each include a separate piece that is attached by soldering. Each of the pieces includes a jaw comprising two sloped, clamping surfaces disposed generally at right angles to each other. Together the four clamping surfaces of these two jaws are said to define a reverse truncated pyramid. When the members are pivoted together, the jaws deform the protruding head of a bottle cork. In other words, the cork is clamped so tightly between the jaws, or more specifically between their clamping surfaces, that the cork is deformed and is thereafter removed by an application of a drawing, rotating movement.
There are, however, several drawbacks to the device described in this expired French patent. These have apparently prevented its acceptance in the marketplace. First, the device is designed for and can only be used with corks having a special configuration, that is, where the normally projecting portion of the corks have a generally square horizontal cross-sectional configuration or shape. Corks having such a square configuration are not in common usage today. This French patented device cannot, as a practical matter, be utilized with the stoppers that are used today and that have a truncated conical shape. Moreover the deformation of the cork as required by the French patented device, tends to cause corks to break before they come out of the bottles. Secondly, stoppers frequently get wet and slick, as for example, when the bottle has been refrigerated. This would result in slippage occurring between the stopper, particularly a plastic stopper, and the smooth clamping surfaces of the French patented device, regardless of the relative configurations of these surfaces and the device, unless extremely high clamping pressure is applied to the stopper by squeezing the device's handles. Such slippage can itself be potentially injurious to the person attempting to remove the stopper. Additionally this makes that device generally unsuitable for use by women and can again lead to the stopper being twisted or broken off in the bottle.
In summary, none of the above noted prior methods or devices are particularly safe or completely effective. Each has the potential of causing injuries, perhaps severe, to the person opening the bottle or to persons and property around where the bottle is being opened. Also such methods can result in broken fingernails and unwanted and undesirable spillage of the beverage. In addition, each requires significant hand, wrist and arm strength to affect the desired result. This has made it difficult for many women to open champagne and sparkling wine bottles. Accordingly, there has been a longstanding need for a safe and effective apparatus for easily removing stoppers from such bottles.